30 wine label designs worthy of toasting

After a long day (or a short day, or a fun day, or a challenging day… or really any day, for that matter), there’s nothing better than a nice glass of wine. And, as a wine creator, you want the bottle that people choose at the end of that long (or short, or fun, or challenging) day to be YOURS.

But with thousands of bottles lining the shelves, how do you set your wine apart? Obviously, your wine is better than all the rest (duh, you made it!), but how do you communicate that insider information to the customer? How do you make your bottle stand out against the competition and entice that wine enthusiast to bring it home, pop it open and give it a pour?

With your label, of course!

Your label is one of the first thing people are going to notice about your bottle. And a label can tell you a lot about the wine inside: what kind of occasion it’s best for, whether it’s a red or a white (or a sparkling or a rose), what varietal it is, what type of flavor to expect… seriously, your customer is drawing a LOT of information from your label.

And because they’re looking for your label to get all of that information, you want to make sure that your label is an accurate representation of who you are and what your customer can expect from your wine. It’s a big deal!

Here’s a roundup of 30 of our favorite cool wine labels for inspiration:

If you’re going for elegant
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Wine is already on the sophisticated side of things—more so than other adult beverages like beer or mixed drinks (margaritas = party time). But there are varying levels of sophistication, and if you want your brand to be considered elegant and appeal to a more sophisticated clientele, there are definite design elements you’ll want to incorporate into your design.

Stick with more traditional design elements and keep things simple to up the sophistication appeal. Calligraphy, simple graphics and muted colors feel sophisticated. If you go with something too contemporary, outlandish, or cartoon-ish, you might alienate the customer you’re going after.

If you’re going after the millennials
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If you’re targeting the millennials, good thinking: you’ll never be short on customers. According to a recent study, millennials drink more wine than any other generation – 159.6 million cases in 2015 alone.

But millennials are a tricky crowd, and if you want to get their attention, you need to speak their language. Labels that are colorful, whimsical or have cool graphics scream “I’m fun! Look at me!”, which is exactly what the millennials are looking for.

And while millennials have no problem shelling out their hard earned cash for a great bottle of vino (that same study found that 17% of millennials wine drinkers spent more than $20 on a bottle of wine in the past month, which is 12% more than the Baby Boomer generation), just keep in mind that since your label doesn’t scream “high-class elegance”, you want to be conscious of pricing fairly.

If you dare to be different
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One of the best ways to stand out so much it practically leaps off the shelf and into your customer’s’ hands? Dare to be different, of course!

It’s a universal rule that people dig uniqueness, and the best thing you can do with your label is be true to who you are as brand, even if you’re a little offbeat and quirky.

Actually, scratch that. Especially if you’re a little offbeat and quirky! When you incorporate who you are straight into your label, the right customers—the ones who vibe with everything that’s offbeat and quirky about you—are going to find your bottle on the shelf.

Moral of the story: don’t do what everyone else is doing. Be you, fly your freak flag high, and dare to be different from the competition.

It’s wine (label) time
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So now that you’ve seen some of the best wine labels out there, we hope you’re feeling inspired to create something equally (or even more!) amazing. But just keep in mind: use these awesome labels as inspiration, but the most important inspiration for your label needs to come from YOU. Be who you are, upfront and out loud, and incorporate that into your label. People connect with authenticity, and when you infuse your label with everything that makes you YOU, you’re going to get the RIGHT people popping that bottle and drinking up.

The author

Deanna deBara is a freelance writer at 99designs. When she's not furiously typing away at her laptop and geeking out on all things design related, you'll likely find her geeking out on all things Harry Potter, finding her Zen through meditation or training for her next ill-advised athletic endeavor.